The Absolute
by zoth Zotherson
Summary: The Generation of Miracles know defeat. But what about destruction? Do they know what losing by 20-30 points feel like? Do they know how it feels to humiliated in public? They still think they are the best. They are... or are they? With their titles being challenged, will the GOM prove themselves? Or are they just meant to be bench warmers?
1. The Emperor's Usurper

**I'm sorry if I'm being too nerdy with my basketball terminology.**

_**Tokyo, Japan**_

Kuroko Tetsuya wiped off the sweat that had accumulated on his eyebrows. He was a little irritated. Even after all these years of training, he was still this physically weak. But it often didn't matter as it wasn't his athleticism (or lack thereof) that won them games, Being able to jump high and run around for 48 minutes straight wasn't his specialty. That was Kagami's. Kuroko's specialty was to be a shadow, to be a ghost, or phantom of sorts.

So here they were now, in Seirin's gym, practicing. They were the only ones left in the gym as practice was over. Kagami however stayed for a little longer. After all their next opponent was Kaijo. Even if it was just a friendly exhibition game. They needed all the practice they could get. As the bi-annual Cosmic Cup was coming up as well.

The Cosmic Cup is different from the Inter-high or the Winter Cup, as every team in all nine regions of Japan would be participating. There were bound to be some teams out there that could give the Generation of Miracles a challenge. He really didn't think any of them could beat one of the GOM as Kuroko had long accepted the fact that they are indeed the best in the country. But then again, he hasn't gone up against anyone from outside their region, with the exception to Yosen and Rakuzan, anyway so what does he know?

The teal-haired phantom tried not to focus on that too much. He took a swig from his water bottle. He looked out the window. He noticed that the sun was coming down. Had the two of them really spent that much time in the gym? He sighed and rubbed his eyes. It was time to go home. Kuroko was about to tell Kagami that it was time to go home, when the shadow heard footsteps. _'Who could it be?'_ Kuroko thought as the door slammed open. It was none other than their coach. Who else would have been here?

Riko took a short glance at him before taking a long look at their ace, who was practicing his post moves. It was a weakness in his game. Sure he could shoot it. But what happens if he double teamed? It was no secret that Kagami occasionally got tunnel vision and would chuck up the ball. Riko gestured for Kuroko to come towards her.

"Oi, Bakagami!" She shouted, interrupting Kagami's attempt at a hook shot, which clanked off the rim. He jogged to her with an irritated look on his face. "What are you guys still doing here?" Her intense look softened.

"Practicing." Kagami grunted. "The Kaijo match is in 3 days so we need all the more practice." Kuroko nodded along with his answer. Riko, sighed and gave them a disappointed look.

"There's no need to practice." Kagami was about to protest. Coach glared at him. "There is no need because the game has been cancelled." This poked Kuroko's interest. Kagami was outraged. He had been practicing for nothing then! Well not nothing, the Cosmic Cup was on its way. It would be his first chance to go up against teams from other regions.

"Can you tell us why?" his shadow asked quietly. There must be a reason right? He took another swig from his water bottle. He looked at the markings on the side. There was only 20 ml left in his 200 ml bottle.

Riko, smiled at him. "Well, for one, Kaijo's head coach called it off because he needed more practice for the Cosmic Cup or something stupid like that." Kagami was about to interrupt. "Yes, I know. What a bad excuse. But there's another reason. The Cosmic Cup has been bumped up a week. The Opening Ceremony starts about 4 days from now."

"Thirdly, he's worried about one of the new teams on the rise." This confused Kuroko. What was there to be worried about a team of first and second years? Unless one of them was a genius prodigy, there was nothing to be worried about.

"That's a stupid reason." Kagami said aloud. "Kaijo's one of the top teams in the nation, why would any team except for the other Generation of Miracles teams worry them?" Kuroko shook his head. Kaijo was one of the top teams of the Kanto region, not all of Japan.

Riko brought here fist down upon his head. "You're a moron." She said through gritted teeth. "Kaijo is one of the top teams of the Kanto region. Not the entire country, Bakagami!" she took a couple of breaths to calm herself down from the stupidity of Kuroko's light.

"The team that he's worried about is Sentaro, but it is not a team like us, who are new. They've actually won the Winter Cup a few times. But that was a decade and a half ago. They were still pretty competitive, until five years ago when their ace went down with a torn ACL. Since then they haven't appeared since." She dropped a lot on them. Kuroko knew of Sentaro. It was in Osaka. Akashi-kun wanted to go there, since some of his childhood friends were there.

Kagami still looked irritated. "That still doesn't explain why he's so worried about them. I mean it's not like they have a Generation of Miracles caliber player. Right?" Riko wasn't sure. But why else? There were plenty of underrated under the radar players in the region. But for one of the top teams to be worried… That had Riko worried as well.

"Don't worry, coach." She looked up. "They can't be as tough as Rakuzan!" Kagami shouted with his trademark determination. Even if it looked like there was a penis on his back, because of the sweat. She looked to Kuroko, simply nodding his head.

"Anyways, head home! Get some rest, so you can actually practice tomorrow. And plus I'm locking up for the night." Kagami pretended not to hear her, as he took a shot from the free throw line. One of Riko's veins looked like it was going to burst. She whacked Kagami in the head and dragged him away from the hoop and out in to the hall. Kuroko had opened the door and was holding Kagami's stuff for him. "Can I at least get my ball?!" except for his ball apparently.

"You can get it tomorrow, after you do your 100 laps around the school!" Their coach shouted.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Osaka, Japan<strong>_

Night started to settle, as Saburou Ichijirou was in the Sentaro's gym, practicing. They had some of the most advanced and sophisticated work out machines in all of Japan. You could stay there the whole day, and not know all the functions and features of _one _machine, let alone all of them. Yet he knew how they worked, what setting they worked best on, how much oil to put on.

Saburou practically lived in the gym, waking up at 7:00 and going to sleep at 11:00. It was a good thing that he was allowed to stay till 12. His arms felt like jelly. _'Stop overworking yourself!'_ he reminded himself. He took a glance at the clock. It was 8.

Deciding that he deserved a break, Saburou, grabbed his water bottle, towel, and gym bag. He sat on one of the benches in the lobby, and took several sips from his bottle.

"You're still here, huh?" Cracking open an eye, Saburou saw Hisami, walking in. What was he doing here? No one else except him stays behind this late. Hisami flipped his stringy black hair off to the side. "You know, Seiho won't be giving us any trouble right?" Saburou nodded. "You probably won't even be playing."

Saburou's eyes narrowed. "On the contrary I will be starting, and I will be playing the entire match." Hisami raised an eyebrow. "Don't look so surprised. I have to keep up appearances you know."

"Are you sure you'll be able to stay calm, against such amateurs?" To the former 4 time Winter Cup champion team, being one of the Three Kings meant nothing. To Saburou and Hisami, Seiho was nothing but a team of third rate players.

"You know you'll tire yourself out right?" Hisami showed a little concern. "Look, the last time you spent 8 hours in the gym, you couldn't even go to practice."

Saburou shook his head. "We don't have practice tomorrow."

"We don't?"

"Were you paying attention during the meeting?! Coach is feeling pretty confident that we're going to win, so the rest of the week's practice is cancelled." Saburou looked annoyed, but really wasn't. He was used to Hisami being an idiot.

"So that's what happened!" Hisami face-palmed.

Saburou lifted his water bottle. "You would already know this if you listened."

His right hand man looked a little sheepish. "Well I was listening… in the beginning. But it was so boring that I kind of fell asleep half-way through." Saburou had an "oh" face.

"…And instead of going to me, you asked Kazuya or Kosaka what happened." Hisami's face told it all. "Am I right?"

"Yeah." Hisami's phone started to ring. He pulled it out and looked at the most recent text. "Well, it's been nice and all, but I gotta go."

Saburou had a glint in his eyes. "Before you leave… One on one?" He unzipped his gym bag and pulled out his ball.

Hisami had a grimace on his face. "You know I'm gonna lose right?" his captain nodded. "Well, I have nothing better to do."

With a nod, Saburou, started to make his way to court, with Hisami right behind him. Hisami had never won a single game against Saburou, be it basketball, Super Smash Brothers, or Mario Kart.

The gym was empty, of course. A few balls were scattered around the gym. Saburou stood in front of the basket. He didn't have to tell Hisami the ball to start.

"How long can you stay?" Saburou asked.

"Another 15 minutes or so." Hisami dribbled with his right hand, bouncing the ball with considerable force. He did a little hesitation maneuver into crossover, hoping to blow by Saburou. His captain, saw what was coming and started to backpedal.

Seeing that he had no clear opening Hisami did a step back move, giving his some space. Hisami faked moving to the left and moved to right, blowing by his captain. He scooped the ball up into the rim and off the glass for an easy lay in.

"Nice move." His captain called back. "Check." Hisami lazily passed the ball back. With a sudden realization. Hisami ran quickly towards Saburou and tried to contest the shot, but he was too late. The ball went in with a loud swish.

Hisami then received the ball back. "Check." The raven haired teen started with a simple crossover into a half spin for an easy shot off the dribble. Saburou blocked it. Somehow.

Hisami, sighed. "Don't forget to clear it!"

"I won't." Hisami's eyes widened. _'Shit!' _He once again arrived too late as Saburou stepped back, outside of the three point line and drilled the open jumper. Score 3-1 Saburou leads.

This was usually how their one on one's would go. Hisami would score one point, then Saburou would score, then he would somehow stop Hisami from scoring, and then go on a run.

Saburou, dribbled it a little before passing it back to Hisami. "Take it up another notch. I haven't had a good opponent in a while." Hisami snorted. He did have good opponents, he just didn't give them the chance to show how good they are.

With an explosive crossover Hisami blew by Saburou and was about to lay it in until he realized that he no longer had the ball. He looked towards the top of the key and saw Saburou release the ball. _"That sly bastard! He must swiped it from me when I blew by him!'_ Hisami didn't even bother to contest the shot as he knew it would go in anyways.

"Come on man! Have a little more life in you!" Saburou called out. Obviously having a good time. He loved humiliating players on the court. Showing them that he is the best there is, and that they can't compare to him. Even Hisami. So when he moved back into the Kansai region and heard about Akashi Seijuro, Saburou was ready to usurp the emperors the throne.

* * *

><p><strong>Yokohama, Japan<strong>

"Hurry up Mako-kun!" A girl with silver hair stopped short of the intersection and looked back. Oda Yuki was waiting for her childhood friend Makoto. They had just come back from a street ball tournament in Tokyo.

"Coming, Yu…" He had his head slouched down and trudged along the sidewalk. The streets were crowded and several people pushed him to side.

Yuki bit her lip. Were his opponents that bad? They couldn't have been. Yuki knew otherwise.

"Hurry up so we can get home and get some sleep!" She shouted. He was all the way down at the other side of the street, just past the other intersection. He was walking at a snail's pace. "Now isn't the time to be moping! You can mope and sulk all you want when Shinsei steamrolls the Cosmic Cup."

She took a breath and opened her mouth to continue, when a drop of rain fell on her nose. She looked up and a more began to fall. She yelped when a bolt of lightning struck one of the buildings. It was nowhere near her, yet she could feel the bolt striking the building.

"Can you please hurry up!?" her face was red, she was also shivering a little bit. She began to see red, when Makoto started to slow down instead of go faster. Yuki had no time for his shit.

She heard a loud sigh coming from his direction. The silver haired girl let out a sigh of relief when Makoto started to finally jogging towards her. She smiled when he arrived.

Makoto lifted his head and noticed that Yuki had brought out an umbrella. There was not a single drop of water on her. He looked down at his clothes. They were already soaking wet with sweat before the rain started to pour down.

"Hey…" She turned and looked at him. "Can I get under that?" She scoffed, and kicked up some water from a puddle onto his shorts.

"You can wait. I've called Sora and told him to come and pick us up." She then went on about how rude and mean it was of him to make her wait in the rain. His mind however was on different things.

"You mean seduced him?" Makoto got splashed by a nearby car driving through a puddle. Somehow Yuki wasn't even wet.

"You were saying?" Yuki had a smirk on her face. She then proceeded to lecture him on why his luck was so bad.

Makoto had honestly expected there to be some fun to be had at the tournament. Instead all he got were a bunch of amateurs pretending to play basketball. He was so bored that he started to use his left hand exclusively.

He was starting to question coming back to Japan. At least in America the teams there put up a challenge.

Yuki kept going on and on, but she definitely knew that Makoto was not listening. Yuki bit her lip again. She only hoped that the Generation of Miracles are as good as everyone says otherwise, they may have to move back to America.

"You know Yuki…" She turned to look at him, he has a slightly guilty face. "I'm sorry that you had to come with me, instead of going with Sora."

"Yeah I could have… but for all I know you could get cold walking through this rain, and the team would have to go on without you." That was true.

Makoto shrugged, "Does it matter if I'm not there? We'll win anyways." He shoved his hands into this pockets and had his lower lip pulled over his upper lip.

"Pouting doesn't suit you."

"So does playing against wannabe's."

Yuki sighed once more. "You know Aomine Daiki right?" she looked at him.

He gave her a puzzled look. "The GOM guy? Yeah"

"His story is almost identical to yours." Makoto scoffed and looked away.

"Our stories are not similar in any way." He was said, stamping his foot for emphasis.

Yuki smiled. "You'll see…" A sleek black car parked in front of them. The back window started to roll down.

"Come on." The black haired teen inside gave Makoto a look, as he refused to enter the car. Yuki was already opening the door.

"Just get in Makoto." She slammed the door shut. The other teen opened the door and slid closer to Yuki. "You can deal with Sora later."

Sora motioned for him to stop. He reached into the back compartment and pulled over a clear plastic cover for Makoto to sit on.

"Don't get my car wet."


	2. The King's Assassin

Kagami's small electronic alarm clock goes off. He rolls around in his bed before smashing his fist into the **OFF **button. The tiger's head lolls to the side, before he actually looks at the clock. 10:25. He was going to be late to practice!

With a flip that would make a gymnast jealous, Kagami got out of bed. Kagami went to work on his bed, folding his blanket, puffing up his pillows and fixing his sheets. With a loud yawn, Seirin's ace ran into his kitchen, past his living room, where Alex slept. He quickly heated up some bread, drank 2 glasses worth of milk from the carton, and fixed his shirt.

After veraciously stuffing the bread into his mouth, Kagami grabbed his bag, said goodbye to Alex and left out the door. He didn't even bother to use the elevators and sprinted down the stairs, and into the streets.

Kagami normally took the bus, but seeing as the bus doesn't arrive until 10:30 he decided to run his way to school. Which was a city block away

He arrived in the middle of the teams 100 laps around the school. There Kagami saw Riko standing in front of the gym with her arms crossed. As expected she didn't look amused, or surprised.

Kagami stopped short to catch a breath. "Sorry…that I'm… Late" He took several deep breaths. He was expecting his 100 laps to be doubled, tripled, and quadrupled even. Yet as he stood there waiting, he looked up at Riko.

"Are you done?" Kagami nodded. Riko motioned for Kuroko, who Kagami had failed to notice, to come forward.

"The two of you will do your training later." She motioned for Kagami to wait for her to finish. "I have a special task for you two." Kagami's ears perked up. Special task. A chill went down his spine. That usually meant bad things.

He looked at Kuroko from the corner of his eye. The small teen looked back at his light and shook his head. _Stop thinking about last time_. Kagami shivered again.

Riko looked a little irritated. "Are you done?" her two aces nodded. "Good. Now remember what I told you yesterday?"

"About Sentaro?"

"Yes." She looked to the side and yelled at Hyuga to run faster. "I heard from a friend of mine in Kaijo that Sentaro has an exhibition match with Seiho."

"So they're going to be doing battle eh." Riko nodded. "How does this concern us exactly?"

"Well, for one, if Seiho gets beaten then their status as one of the Kings of Tokyo is no longer. Second," Her eyes grew dark. "… if they lose, then that means that Sentaro is not a joke, and that we another contender for the Cosmic Cup."

"But there's no way that Seiho is going to lose!" Kagami argued. Seiho was still one of the strongest teams in Tokyo. The chances they would lose, was nil.

"We won't know until you report back to us." Riko said, handing Kuroko a notepad and a pen. "You two will watch the game and afterwards report back everything that you've seen."

"Wouldn't you be better for this job, coach?" that was true, they didn't have her special eyes after all. They couldn't tell whether or not how good a player was just by looking at them.

She sighed. "There's something else I have to take care of that demands my attention right now. And besides, Kuroko's eyes can fill in for mine."

"But-"

"Kagami-kun." The redhead looked towards his shadow. "This is more important than practice right now."

"I guess, but…"

Riko then slapped on the back. "Well off you to go then! And remember: Don't fall asleep Kagami." She looked a little sinister after saying that.

Kagami stuttered a good bye, as he and Kuroko made their way to the directions written down on Kuroko's notepad.

They were halfway there when Kagami's stomach started to rumble really loud. "Are you hungry Kagami-Kun?" Kuroko asked.

The redhead nodded slowly and weakly.

"There's a convenience store nearby. I can buy you a snack if you want." Kuroko offered, taking his wallet out.

"A bag of chips should be fine, and you don't have to pay for it." Kagami pulled out his own wallet and handed Kuroko a couple yen. "This should be enough. I'll be waiting out here if you need anymore."

With a nod Kuroko made his way across the street, and into the small convenience store. _Would Kagami-kun like these Chips? Perhaps I should have asked him._ The teal haired teen held two bags of chips in his hands.

Kuroko quickly paid for it and exited. As he exited he bumped into someone. Said person, quickly got up and picked up his…giant frog?

"Perhaps you should be watching where you're going, Kuroko." Midorima said dusting his coat off. Takao then rounded the corner and bumped into Midorima, sending him back down to earth.

"Takao!" the green haired sharpshooter shouted, clutching his frog tightly. "Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry, Shin-chan!" the eagle-eyed teen apologized and helped his teammate up before noticing Kuroko standing in front on him. "And what are you doing here Kuroko? Shouldn't you be at practice?"

Kuroko opened his mouth but was cut off by Kagami who quickly drifted around the corner into Midorima, sending him tumbling down again.

"Oof!"

"Shin-chan!" Takao rushed to help Midorima up.

"Kuroko!" Kagami shouted. "Are you alright? Are these guys harassing you?" he turned towards the Shutoku's duo.

"No Kagami-kun. I bumped into them." He said holding Kagami back. Kagami cooled down.

"Are you sure?" Kuroko nodded. "I guess I'll take your word for it then. He still eyed them with suspicion.

"What are you guys doing so far from Shutoku anyways?"

"I could ask you the same question." Midorima straightened his glasses.

"We were on our way to see the Sentaro-Seiho exhibition." Takao answered. "Then Shin-chan said that he needed to buy something, so we stopped here. So what are you guys doing here?" he pointed at them.

Kuroko answered. "We were on our way to watch the Sentaro-Seiho exhibition as well, but then Kagami-kun's stomach began to rumble so I decided to buy his some snacks."

"So you guys are going to be scouting Sentaro as well eh?" Takao asked. Kuroko nodded. Takao clapped his hands together and was about to say something.

"We will not be traveling with them." Midorima interrupted.

Takao shook his head. "We don't really have time to be arguing about this. The game started like ten minutes ago, and we still have a six minute walk to the arena. We can't be wasting more time."

"I agree." Kuroko was already on his way, and he was dragging Kagami along for the ride.

"Hey, wait up!" Takao grabbed Midorima's wrist, and before he could complain, he was dragged along the ground.

"Takao! I still haven't gotten by candy bar! And if you scrape my butt off..." He trailed off. Takao already knew that it was an empty threat, and as such speeded along.

The rest of the trip was only a short couple of minutes as a result of their running.

Midorima looked around. He was sure he saw Aomine somewhere but pushed the thought out of his head. "There aren't any more seats." He told the others.

"Then we'll just stand here." Kagami proclaimed.

"Actually there's a few open seats over there." Takao pointed out. They were a couple of steps down.

"Let's hurry up, there's an intermission right now so we have time." Kuroko was already on his way down.

His three companions ran down instead of walking down like civilized people.

"What's the score?" Kagami asked. Kuroko pointed towards the score board and Kagami's jaw dropped.

The score was 50-10, in favour of Sentaro.

Even Midorima seemed surprised. They knew that Sentaro was supposed to be good, but this…

BEEP! BEEP! The timeout timer rang out across the arena. "SENTARO BALL!" the announcer told everyone around the arena.

#6 inbounded the ball to #00. The ball handler made his way down the court. Seiho's normal defensive pressure didn't seem to have any effect. He made a couple of gestures and #13 sets him a screen.

#00 drives down the lane. Everyone's eyes widen as he brings the ball out, almost like he's about to pass out to #25, when all of a sudden he brings the ball back into his body. His defender falls for the fake and reaches where it should have been. He stumbles.

"Not on my watch!" Tsugawa shouts. He's about to block #00, when double zero brings the ball back down to his hip and passes it behind the back to the cutting #3. #3 slams it down on Tsugawa and another defender.

The rim is still shaking. The referee whistles as a foul is called. "Shooting foul! Black #10!"

"That double zero looks familiar…" Midorima had his hand under his chin. "I feel like I should know him."

"Really?" Takao looks at him. "I don't think we've ever been against Sentaro."

"I'm not talking about during our time together Takao. I'm talking about back in Teiko." He looked towards Kuroko. "Do you recognize him?"

Kuroko shook his head.

Midorima's eyes widened like he just had an epiphany, and took in a breath. "Now I remember. He was from Shizei High."

"That team we faced in the quarterfinals of our last year?" Kuroko asked. If this guy was as good as he was now…

"Yes, but he was injured every time our teams fought each other. Except for the last time. I heard from a cousin of mine that he moved to America." The sharpshooter pushed his glasses back up.

"Who is he?" Kagami's interest had been peaked, as #00 ankle broke his defender. The red-haired teen wanted to know who his future opponent would be.

"I believe he is called Saburou Ichijirou." Midorima replied. He watched as Saburou drove into the paint with no problem and easily scored against a normally tough defense.

However, the person that got both his and Takao's attention was #3. He was showing even less trouble penetrating Seiho's defense. Tsugawa in frustration fouled to stop #3 from getting another easy lay-up. Though it would be in vain, as he made the shot anyways. He would make the free throw, pushing the lead to 46 points.

At this point, everyone knows that Seiho has no chance to win. Sentaro is too strong.

* * *

><p>Saburou steals the ball from his matchup and is running the floor. He stops and surveys the court and sees Hisami cutting. He knows that #10 sees Hisami as well. So instead of Passing he fakes a pass to Hisami and instead passes the ball behind his back to Kazuya who goes around a screen from Hisoka and drills the open jumper.<p>

Back on defense, his matchup, #22 calls for a screen. It doesn't affect Saburou at all. As he blocks his shot.

"Is that all?" he whispers, losing control of the ball for a moment. #22 sees this as a chance and reaches for the ball. Saburou however regains control and does a cross court behind the back pass to Hisami, who scores once again.

Saburou looks toward his opponent and sneers at him. "Pathetic. You might as well treat this as practice now." To make a point, he orders the rest of his team to sag off of their marks. #22 drives into the paint and passes out to the open Tsugawa who shoots it. He misses and the ball bounces high off the glass. Saburou gets the rebound.

He dribbles slowly up the court. He signals for Kosaka to set a screen and for Kazuya to get to the other corner of the court. Using the screen Saburou does an explosive crossover and leaves his defender in the dust. Kazuya's defender goes over to help leaving the shooting guard open for three. Saburou sees this and half-way into his shooting motion passes to Kazuya who knocks down the three.

The captain can hear Tsugawa trying to encourage his team. Though Saburou can tell that his morale is pretty low as well.

"Oi, Kazuya, switch marks with me." His teammate nods and makes his way over to #22.

Tsugawa looks a little confused. Kazuya was doing a good job defending him. Why switch?

"You still think you can win don't you." Saburo is a few feet away, waiting for a bad pass to come his way.

"Of course I do! I play every game to win and this is no different." He responds. "And besides it's only the second quarter, we have a lot of time to make a comeback."

Saburo narrows his eyes. _Enough time, eh? We'll see._ Saburou then intercepts a pass meant for Seiho's small forward.

Rushing up the court he can feel Tsugawa right behind him. So instead of going for the shot, he stops on a dime, right in front of the three point line. Tsugawa's momentum carries him past Saburou a couple of feet. It looks like Saburou is going to take the shot.

Tsugawa jumps to contest to shot, not seeing Hisami rush past into the open paint. Saburou once again in mid-air changes from a shot to pass. The pass goes right by Tsugawa's head and into Hisami's hands.

Hisami is about to lay it in when one of the defenders pushes into him to get him off balance. He hears the whistle. Though he has no line of site with the rim, he throws the ball up with his left hand anyways.

The Ball hits high off the glass.

It bounces once on the rim.

Twice.

Three times.

It rolls around the hoop a couple of times.

The crowd goes silent.

The ball goes in.

* * *

><p>Makoto, and Yuki know they shouldn't be surprised, but they are. They've seen countless other players make wild shots like that.<p>

Yuki looks towards her childhood friend. His eyes are gleaming with hunger. What kind? Even she doesn't know. He didn't have breakfast after all. He wanted to see this game.

The two of them sat back down.

"It seems that Saburou's gotten better than the last time we saw him." Yuki remarked. Makoto nodded. Last they had seen of their former captain was in America.

"Yeah, his vertical's increased." Makoto told her. A vein started to pulsate.

"You've already told me that like five times."

Makoto shrugged. "Thought you needed a reminder." His silver-haired friend cracked her knuckles. She looked ready to kill.

"Could you two be any louder?" Sora asked them, rubbing his red, bloodshot eyes. He glared at his two friends.

"Yes, we could be yelling but we're not." Makoto replied. He had a smirk on his face.

"What's happened so far?" Sora asked Yuki, completely ignoring Makoto, who huffed.

"Well you would know, if you hadn't fallen asleep." Yuki shot back, as they watched Hisami make his first free throw. Yuki frowned. "His form seems a little stiff today."

Sora's eyes had a glint in them as Saburou drove through Seiho, and tipped the missed free throw back in.

"Yuki." She turned to him. "Keep an eye on our friend Saburo here."

"I've been doing that since the game started."

"Well keep doing it."

**The Wiki says that all of Seiho's players except for Tsugawa are gone since they are seniors, so that's why only Tsugawa is named**


	3. The Beheaded King

The atmosphere in the crowd was electric. Kagami couldn't believe his eyes. He thought only Aomine could make those shots on a daily basis. But this guy… this #3 proves him wrong.

"Did that just happen?" Takao asks turning to his green haired teammate with a shocked look.

Midorima nods. He seems to be the only one not in shock or amazed by what just happened. To throw it up haphazardly and still make it? That was a regular occurrence in the NBA.

However the shot was not what surprises the sharpshooter, no it was the events that lead to the shot. For Saburou to stop on a dime at that speed? That was something he expects Aomine or Akashi to do. To be able to direct Tsugawa's attention away from Hisami allowing him a free basket? That was a Kuroko like play. That pass that was right on the money and in rhythm? That chilled him to the bone. It was something Midorima thought only Akashi could do.

But the way he did it is what really shocks him. To do it like all of that was planned… It was like Saburou knew that Tsugawa was going too fast and would pass by him. It was like he knew that Tsugawa would jump to contest the shot, and give Hisami an opening. But still… even Midorima was convinced that Saburou would take the shot. He was still relatively open.

The green haired sharpshooter turns to Kuroko. The teal haired boy didn't show it outwardly, but he too was a little surprised and shocked, he just had a feeling that it would go in.

Still it shouldn't be a surprise to Kuroko, he was formerly Aomine's teammate after all. That guy constantly made shots like that.

Midorima has to redirect his attention back to the court, as the game was continuing. Tsugawa was bringing the ball up court. Saburou was still on him. _'What more do you have to prove Saburou?'_ Why was he still on Tsugawa when it was apparent that he was much better?

Shutoku's ace grimaces as Tsugawa air-balls an open shot, as Saburou backs off of him. Offence was not particularly what Seiho was good at. Sure they had some pieces on offense that could score but not a consistent basis. Seiho's strength was in their defense.

Though it would not seem like that, as Saburou once again penetrates the Seiho defense with ease. Three defenders close in on the paint to stop him. He was already in mid-air when he once again passes out of a shot to the open Kosaka.

Kosaka's mark sags off. That was a big mistake, as the 6"7' forward drills the jumper. It was nothing but net.

Kuroko could not help but open his mouth in awe as Sentaro passes the ball around unselfishly, making sure that they only had the best shot available, giving everyone on the team a chance to touch the ball. It reminded him of the Spurs play in this NBA finals.

This was only cemented further when Kazuya, who had an "open" shot decides to drive in and draw the defence towards him giving the other perimeter players an open shot. Kazuya passes out to Hisami who then passes to Saburou. Saburou then drives into the lane and passes out to the corner where Kazuya stands and knocks down a wide open jumper.

There was no one standing around doing nothing. Everyone was moving off-ball. Setting screens, cutting back door, and posting up near the paint, or boxing out for rebounds.

Yet still, the offence ran on Saburou's command. He would always start with the ball and either he or Hisami would end the possession. It seemed to both Kuroko and Midorima that Sentaro starts and ends with Saburou.

There was 5 seconds left on the clock till half-time, Saburou was slowly dribbling the ball up the court. The defense was scattered.

"Oh dear." Takao says under his breath. Midorima nodded, knowing what was coming. He had done it many times as well.

Saburou looks Tsugawa in the eyes. Seiho's shooting guard's eyes widens as he notices the glint in Saburou's eyes.

"Collapse in the paint!" He shouts, but it was too late as they stood frozen, watching as Saburou throws the floater through the air. It went in the basket just as the buzzer ring out.

The first half ends on a 34 point run for Sentaro.

"There will be a 10 minute intermission!" the announcer declares.

* * *

><p>Sora stands up, stretches his arms and yawns. Yuki smiles at him.<p>

"Still sleepy?" she asks. She too is tired. They had stayed up pretty late, because of that 15 car pileup yesterday.

Makoto stands up as well, "I'm gonna go buy some snacks and drinks. You guys want anything?"

Sora shakes his head, and lifts his Pepsi can. Yuki shook her head as well, her eyes focus comepletely on Saburou, who has just entered their locker room and disappears from her view.

"All right then. I'll be back in five." Makoto waves his hand. Sora looks away from him and chuckles.

"So have you figured out his special ability yet?" he asks. Shinsei's point guard has an idea of what Saburou's ability is.

Yuki shakes her head. "That's not my specialty." She took a deep breath. "But I do know because of prior knowledge."

"Really?"

"Yup!" She replies. "My cousin was his girlfriend for a time, and she dragged me to his games in America. I'm not sure how good he was compared to now, but he seemed unbeatable. Even to people that were a foot taller."

She takes a sip from her coffee, before continuing. "His special ability hadn't full developed back then but it was developed enough to the point that he could compete with players that were 6"3 where he was 5"8."

Her fingers are tapping her armrest. "His special ability is the Absolute Eye."

Sora looks a little taken a back. "The Absolute eye? Like the Hawk eye or Eagle eye?"

Yuki shakes her head again. "More like the Emperor Eye. Its field of view is as good if not greater than all of those combined. But that isn't what's scary about it."

"Then what is?"

The silver-haired manager scratched the back of her head. "Well…it's a little hard to explain but… Think of it like this. The Emperor Eye can predict the future with extreme accuracy." She took two gulps of coffee. "However, it can be fooled. As seen with the pseudo-emperor eye. A person with extremely good body control can make Akashi-san think one thing is going to happen but in reality that person has something else in plan."

Sora had a look of understanding on his face. "But the Absolute eye can't be fooled."

She nods. "Instead of just using the information gained by muscle twitches and slight movements, the Absolute eye can "scan" a person's body for weaknesses and strengths and combines that knowledge with Saburou's research to give him every scenario that could possibly happen." She takes one last sip before throwing her empty cup into the trash. "And he does all of this in his mind in less than a second."

Sora smirks. "Seems I finally have a worthy opponent." He's never felt this excited before.

"HA! I doubt that" Makoto proclaims getting back in his seat. "Saburou has been searching for his equal for years and has never found him. What makes you think you can match his ability?"

He doesn't wait for an answer "Let me put it more into perspective for you. If Akashi is the emperor, then Saburo is the usurper, or the conqueror you could say." He took a huge chunk from his burger before continuing. "Plus: Saburou's is practically telepathic."

"But you? You'll be nothing to him. That I can guarantee." Makoto says.

Sora scowls. "You seem so sure."

"Because I've gone up against him before. I was able to beat him then, but he was actually able to give some trouble."

This really put some context into the point guard's head. Makoto, while he hates to admit it, is the best high-school player that he knows. So if Saburou was able to give him trouble…

* * *

><p>Across the stadium, Akashi is excited, He feels more excited than when he went against Kuroko. Though you can't tell, because of his blank face. His teammates, have just gotten back from the concession stands and restroom. Nebuya, as usual, has a mountain of burgers in his lap. Kotaro is excitedly waiting for the game to resume, and Reo is fixing his hair and looks disgusted at Nebuya's eating habits.<p>

When the captain of the Miracles heard that Sentaro would enter the Cosmic Cup, he was intrigued. Why would a team that's been washed up for years suddenly decide to join a tournament where only the best team every region are allowed in? He became more interested when he heard rumours that the son of his father's rival was their ace.

BEEP! BEEP! "The game will be resuming in one minute!" Akashi turns his head down to the court and sees Sentaro walking out of their locker room. Seiho also walks out of theirs. They look demoralized and hopeless. Though Akashi knew that from the start. Especially since their opponent was Saburou, defeat was inevitable.

The crowd doesn't look as empty as it should in a blowout. In fact they're excited and wish to see more electrifying plays from Sentaro at the expense of their opponent.

The match proceeds to play out how Akashi thought it would. Though he's a little disappointed at Saburou's play. He was careless, almost turning the ball over several times. Though he probably did that on purpose. His passes were all over the place, his shots were a little short but went in anyways. If this generation of Seiho was competent like last year's then Saburou would have paid for his mistakes. But probably not, as Saburou is too good to be that careless.

"That was a boring match to watch." Nebuya declares, after a loud burp. He gets several looks from the people around him, but pays no mind.

"I agree for once." Reo says. "I don't like watching blowouts. The outcome is so clear, unlike with close games."

Kotaro looks shocked. "How could you guys not enjoy the game?! That #3 was Aomine-san out there! And that #00 was playing like Akashi!"

Reo lightly punches his teammates shoulder. "Don't be comparing Sei-chan to nobodies like that!"

Akashi speaks up. "On the contrary Mibuchi, he can compare Saburou to myself."

"You know the guy?!" Kotaro shouts, excitedly. "Why should I be surprised you know everyone at school, so why not!"

"This is different, Kotaro." Mibuchi says, and turns to Akashi. "So what history do you two have?" He asks like a gossiping girl.

"I met him on a visit to America several summers ago, back when I was in Teiko actually."

"He lived America?" Nebuya asks, patting his stomach.

Akashi shakes his head. "No. He was just visiting as well." But Akashi wasn't really listening to his teammates. Instead he trained his eyes onto a patch of teal hair across the stadium. He had noticed Kuroko early on, and decided to keep an eye on him as well.

"Sei-chan?" Mibuchi inquires. Akashi was just standing there, staring across the stadium.

The redheaded teen turns his head and meets the shooting guard in eyes. Something in Akashi's eyes gave Mibuchi chills.

"Is something wrong, Mibuchi?" Said red-haired teen asked. Suddenly his phone begins to ring. Waving his teammates away Akashi saunters off to an isolated corner of the arena. He pulls out his IPhone 6. He smiles. Akashi holds it to his ears.

"Ayase." He greets.

"Is that it? That's how you greet an old friend?" A female voice shrieks on the other side. "Hmph! We'll talk about that later, but first…" The voice drawled on. "You saw the game right?"

"Of course. I hate to admit it, but I was impressed." Akashi responds. He could _hear_ Ayase smirking on the other side. "He showed a lot more skill than last time."

"Of course you'd be impressed. Didn't I tell you that last time you called me? But then again, you are Akashi Seijuro. Hard to please, easy to impress." She states.

He chuckles. "I'm only easy to impress because my expectations are so low. That's why they impress me."

"But do they exceed your…uh… What's the word?" She pauses to think. "Here we go! They don't exceed your imagination right?"

Akashi smirks. "Of course. While they may exceed my initial predictions, they always fall short of what they could be."

"Anyways…" she pauses before continuing. "When are you gonna come and visit me?" He could practically _hear_ her pouting on the other side.

* * *

><p>Ryousuke was still seated. The game had ended ten minutes earlier. Saburou didn't disappoint. That he expected. What he didn't expect was for Hisami to be playing so badly. Compared to before his injury anyways. He is nowhere near as fast as back then.<p>

The shooting guard stands up picks up his back and calls home. "Hey mom… Yeah, I should be there in uh… 3 hours if it's the bullet train… Don't worry. I won't take too long reuniting with the boys." He winces as his mother reminds him of someone.

"Yeah and Yuki too… Don't worry, I won't and can't do anything promiscuous with her. Of course I'll tell Makoto hi." He looks up and sees two people approaching him. "Yeah I'll see you later. Love you, bye." He puts his phone away and chest-bumps with Makoto.

"Ryou-Kun!" He gives Yuki a hug. He looks up and sees another person making his way towards them.

He shakes hands with Sora. "Sora Shinchiro. Point guard" Ryousuke looks the dark-haired teen in the eye. Something about him gives the shooting guard an eerie feeling down his spine.

"Ryousuke Takahata. Shooting guard." Sora had heard of him before. The absolute scorer they call him. The 1st option on offense. 2 time middle school scoring champ.

"What are you doing so far from Tohoku?" Yuki asks. Ryousuke is from a completely different region than trio from Shinsei.

"I got a message from Sato. Something about Saburou being back in action." He explains. "You know I can't pass up watching that."

At the mention of Sato, Yuki and Makoto's eyes widen. Sora's ears perk up. Sato was their captain.

Yuki grips Ryousuke by the collar. "What exactly did Sato-kun tell you?" She asks. Her eyes narrow. Was is time?

"He told me that we would be reuniting sooner than we think. That was what he said after informing me of Saburou's game." He says with sweat dripping from his forehead.

"Yes we will be." All eyes turn towards the steps leading to a train platform. Standing up there covered by the shadows is a dark haired teen with striking silver eyes.

He continues. "I know for a fact that all of us will be reuniting soon. And I have no doubt in my mind that we will be on the opposite sides. But I'm here to warn you." He says staring directly at Sora with unblinking eyes. He sees the cold indifference in them.

"You have all made a name for yourself. As kings of the court. But I am the Usurper. I will have your thrones."


End file.
